Taking these studies further back, I'm trying to understand where Kimberly and Don's version of Beauty have their roots in design.- Beauty is one of Don's unreleased character's that I'm attempting to animate in my spare time. - The easiest thing to do was to go back to Sleeping Beauty and study those designs. I did this early study, noted mistakes and then tried to apply that knowledge to a personal sketch:

This wasn't quite enough. I had to study the same reference Marc Davis had used to design Briar Rose. Looks like he studied Audrey Hepburn so I tried to find some reference and start there:

Then I did some unsuccessful portrait studies since they're missing likeness and the feeling:

I added a few extra studies here focusing on communication and conversation between people:

The end result doesn't really show the work I put into everything but here's the memory study based off my previous studies. This version was a bit more vapid and cliche than I wanted with mistakes in design but there's good mistakes to share with everyone:

Cliches tend to be the most frustrating part of drawing and animating because it's a crutch that sort of work. 'Sort of work' because had the idea been more refined, something better would've come to mind. The sketch above is a personal cliche and perhaps a cultural cliche as well. It's good to get them out and push for something better as soon as possible. Matt Jones has some really great, well observed, thoughtful and insightful drawings which are the polar opposite of cliche. The solution to this problem is simple and something I need to practice more often: "A sketchbook too will show you are visually interested in the world around you & able to capture it. It will say everything about you & show your interests & influences. It basically shows you are alive & intelligent!"

Next time, I'll be real careful with the likeness and and try to apply the feeling & conversational quality in my quick sketches to the final version rather than chickening out and doing something safe.

I always have difficulty drawing Don's characters so taking some time to understand his construction and shapes is really important. For 2010, I really wanted to get this stuff solid and then push it with unique acting ideas. Have a ways to go yet but Don has always been very helpful and encouraging.